Hello everyone! I am back with a oneshot. This fic takes place a year or two before Cars and depicts what Christmas for the residents might have looked like after Radiator Springs was taken off the map. I've had this idea for a few years after listening to James Taylor's "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and I finally wrote it down on paper. I hope you enjoy it.

It was Christmas Eve in Radiator Springs. Lights were strung from building to building, glowing brightly against the starry midnight blue sky. The tree in the middle of the town glowed brightly, adorned with ornaments, some of them fancier baubles and others old ornaments that had been passed down between cars from generation to generation. Decorations adorned every building, making the place look festive even though not one speck of snow could be seen.

However, the town was empty and quiet. Not a soul could be seen for miles. Sadly, this was no stranger for the town's residents, as Christmas had simply been this way for nearly the past 20 years.

Flo sighed as she studied the scene in front of her. She had never seen the town so quiet and empty, especially at Christmas time. The festive decorations in the empty town looked almost eerie, and the town was too quiet, with the exception of James Taylor's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" playing faintly from one of the cafe's outdoor speakers.

Ramone pulled up next to her, sensing his wife's melancholy. "You okay, baby?" he asked, his aquamarine eyes locking with hers. Normally the Impala was always in a good joking mood and Christmas was no different, but worry lined his eyes as he studied Flo's expression.

Flo nodded. "Yeah, hon. Just feel it's awfully quiet over here." She didn't want her husband to worry, as it hurt her the most to see him in a less than jovial mood. But then again, Christmas had been rough on everyone for the past two decades.

"Just not the same without Milton, eh?" Ramone asked, looking over at the Courthouse, which was decorated yet empty.

Flo nodded. She thought back to Christmas of 1985, when the town had first been taken off the map. It had been an incredibly hard time for the residents, as they had little money and almost all of the residents had left at that point. They hadn't had much to give, but they at least had each other. One year Ramone had proposed they do Secret Santa, and even though the gifts were little, it had been one of the most joyful Christmases for the residents since that fateful year.

The former show car sighed, staring up at the blinking traffic light that stood in the middle of the road. That light seemed to always be stuck on yellow. She had even overheard Fillmore claim that every third blink was slower, but Sarge had always brushed it off as Fillmore simply being stuck in the 60s–which had supposedly "not been good to him".

Luigi and Guido were staring at the tree, melancholy looks on their faces. It seemed as though they were missing their home in Italy. Luigi remembered the amazing parties his uncle had thrown in his little hometown of Carsoli, Italy, the colourful lights that had decorated, the heavenly amounts of food–courtesy of Mama's cooking–that was on every table, and of course, the lively bands that always played as the cars danced and couples tried to kiss.

"Remember that time you almost kissed-a Francesca?" Luigi asked, looking over at his friend with a twitchy half smile, as if trying to hold back his emotions. "But it-a turned out to be Angelica?"

"Si," the blue forklift replied, turning slightly pink as he glanced away.

Behind the sign, Sheriff was snoring, as there was no activity in the town. They hadn't even seen a speeder in years. Of course, back when Hank Murphy–also known as Hank "Halloween" Murphy was in town–that was different. The Rumbler always had Sheriff on his tyres, as he was known for his pranks, ranging from drag racing, to donuts, to playing chicken–which he had never lost. Of course he had to stop after losing a curb feeler due to his poor eyesight, but this didn't stop the Hollismobile from finding other ways to prank the residents and have fun–especially at Halloween. Sheriff had always complained about his pranks, but the residents suspected he secretly missed him.

Doc hadn't even been seen. Ever since he had come to town the Hudson Hornet had preferred to stay within his clinic. He almost never came out, but he especially seemed to isolate himself at Christmas time. Luigi had once jokingly called him the Scrooge of the town, but the residents had not taken kindly to that. Yet the Hornet rarely ever seemed to celebrate it with them and this year seemed to be no different.

Mater was at his shack, trying to string some lights over his rickety old shed, Red was watering his plants, and Lizzie snored. Even Sarge and Fillmore were oddly quiet.

Sally rolled out from the Cozy Cone, approaching Flo. She could see right away that the town's matron had a forlorn expression, in contrast to her bright and haughty personality.

"Is everything alright Flo?" she asked, giving the elder car a sympathetic look.

"Yeah Honey," she replied, trying to force a smile. "I was just thinkin' about how Christmas used to be. Ya know it just hasn't been the same since Radiator Springs was taken off the map."

Sally couldn't disagree. Ever since she had stumbled into this little town in her attempt to get away from her beltway living in L.A. she had been determined to get the town back on the map. Unfortunately, it was a slow and difficult process, as it was hard to promote their nearly-empty little town in the middle of nowhere, but the Porsche refused to give up.

"I know things have been bleak. But Christmas will go on, and it will be merry, as long as we have each other," Sally reminded the elder car, determination in her voice.

Flo gave her a kind smile. "You're absolutely right, Honey. As long as we're together, Christmas is gonna be great."

Sally smiled back, though she felt rather sad as she recalled the stories of how Christmas in Radiator Springs used to be. Sure, they were simple folk who never had fancy, lavish parties or decorations. But the town had always been cosy and filled with warm, loving people. One of the residents who used to work at the Courthouse, Milton Calypeer, was almost infamous for the parties he would throw at the Courthouse, which often included him inviting cars from all over the state, sometimes more than they could fit inside the Courthouse! It was a rare time of year when the town would be bursting at the scene with cars. But Milton had long since left, along with almost all of the residents, except for a few who had chosen to stay behind.

Sally sighed as she looked at the road in front of her. She wished a good change would come, that their little town would get some recognition. She had hoped Christmas would make things brighter, but in some ways they seemed almost bleaker. The Porsche couldn't remember the last time she had enjoyed Christmas since she was a child. But she was happy that she had found a loving family in this little town, and that was more than she could have ever hoped for.

She hoped one day things would look up, that her wish for the town to get back on the map would come true. She looked up at the twinkling night sky, the stars twinkling back at her like an array of tiny headlights along a pitch black highway. One day she hoped this town would return to prosperity and be just as it was in the old days. Perhaps even better.

But until then, the residents would just have to muddle through somehow. All they could do was try to make the most of the holiday and spend their time in each other's company either until the end of time….or until a miracle happened.

I will confess, I feel this isn't the best Cars fic I've written but I figured it was worth sharing. I only wrote it in the span of a few days so I'm sorry if the quality isn't great. I originally was going to depict the residents celebrating their first Christmas after the de-mapping of Radiator Springs but couldn't really get any ideas to flow (and October Road wasn't released until 2002, which is where Taylor's cover of the aforementioned Christmas song is from) so I decided to depict a Christmas in the town prior to 2006. And I'm posting this at midnight and kind of had a rough Christmas so far, so apologies if I sound scatterbrained XD

But that being said, I still hope you enjoy the story and have a Happy Christmas! This will most likely be my last fic of 2022 but I will try to update my other fics as soon as I can. Sending best wishes and lots of love 3